Wise Dan repeats as U.S. Horse of the Year

HALLANDALE, Fla., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Wise Dan Saturday was named the U.S. Horse of the Year for the second year in a row.

The turf mile specialist also received the Eclipse Award as top older male horse and top male turf horse for the second straight year.

Wise Dan, a 7-year-old gelding by Wiseman's Ferry, capped his 2013 campaign with his second straight win in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita. Overall, he had six wins from seven starts during the year, all of them graded stakes. His only loss was a second-place finish behind Silver Max in the Grade I Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland -- a race that was taken off the grass and run at 1 1/16 miles over a saturated all-weather surface.

Wise Dan was bred by his owner, Morton Fink, and trained by Charles LoPresti. John Velazquez was his regular rider but Jose Lezcano subbed in the irons in the Breeders' Cup after Velazquez was injured in a spill earlier on that day's card.

"It's truly amazing that I'm here again," Fink said at the awards ceremony at Gulfstream Park. "I thought last year was the height of my career and Wise Dan just keeps going and going."

Wise Dan in December was honored in Hong Kong as one of the Longines World's Best Racehorse winners for 2013, along with Australian star Black Caviar and French runner Treve. Japan's stellar Orfevre later was added to that mix.

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